


It's a hardware problem

by idinathoreau



Category: Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (TV)
Genre: Drabble, F/F, Height Differences, Prompt Fic, how many engineers does it take to change a lightbulb?, in which the shorter one helps the taller one for a change, these idiots not realizing they're in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 11:14:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29170170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idinathoreau/pseuds/idinathoreau
Summary: Joan has a problem. Zoey tries to help.
Relationships: Zoey Clarke/Joan
Comments: 5
Kudos: 36





	It's a hardware problem

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came to me and wouldn't leave me alone. Could be the start of a series of drabbles but let's not get our hopes up.  
> Thanks to royalarmyofoz on Tumblr for the prompt!

Zoey was on her way back from Simon’s office when she saw something she never thought she’d see. “Joan?” She darted into Joan’s office, staring in awe and some confusion at the woman standing on her desk. “What’s uh, what’s crackin?”

“My office is dim!” Joan declared, glaring upwards at her light fixture. “The lightbulb above my head burned out and I cant see well enough to read all the tiny words on the tiny screens we use around here!”

“Right…” Zoey glanced down, eyeing Joan’s heels on the desk with some trepidation. “So you’re…?”

“Trying to change the lightbulb, yes.” Joan stretched upwards, hands nowhere close to the taunting lightbulb. The action drew her blouse just far enough away from her slacks to reveal a hint of skin. Standing below Joan as she was, Zoey had a perfect view straight up the older woman’s shirt.

Flushing beet-red, Zoey cleared her throat and looked away. “Uhh, looks like you can’t quite reach it.”

“No.” Joan agreed, hands on her hips. “Help me?”

“How?” Zoey gestured at herself; all 5 feet and 2 inches of her. “I’m afraid I’m not…vertically gifted?”

“I know that!” Joan huffed, gesturing. “I mean not that you need to be, I just thought you might know where I could find some way to elevate myself.”

“Why would I know that?”

“I don’t know. You know things around here. Like the names of the receptionists.”

“Clara and Yvonne…”

“But apparently that does not extend to knowledge of where our ladders might be stored.”

“Or knowledge of how to summon our maintenance guys…”

“I already tried that…they said they’ll get to it when they get to it…so I took matters into my own hands.”

“And you dont have anything you could use to extend your reach?”

“Not without breaking the bulb.”

“Right.” Zoey chuckled, drawing Joan’s frown.

“What’s so funny?” Joan demanded, folding her arms. From that angle, Zoey had to admit that she was more intimidating than usual. 

“Nothing just…” Zoey gestured, smirking. “How many coders does it take to change a lightbulb?”

“00110010” Joan replied, completely deadpan but clearly fighting a smirk too.

“And does either of those coders have a step-stool?” 

Joan shook her head. “Zoey, we are two smart, capable engineers…we should be able to figure this out!” She frowned up at the light.

Zoey grimaced. “Well…I may have a thought…”

Joan gestured, inviting Zoey to continue.

“I mean…you can just barely reach it so maybe if we…” Zoey pantomimed with her hands. 

“Oh.” Joan fidgeted, looking away from Zoey. “Uhhh, right that…we…we could try that.”

And that was why when Tobin wandered by on his way to the bathroom, he had to stop and do a double-take. Joan had Zoey balanced on her shoulders, the two of them talking over each other and awkwardly gripping thighs and hair as Zoey tried her best to swap out the lightbulb and Joan teetered on her heels on her desk. Both of them were blushing furiously.

“Take a wider stance! That’ll be sturdier!”

“I’m running out of desk here Zoey…”

“Then take the heels off!”

“And sacrifice those four inches? We can barely reach as is! Just get in there!”

“Joan!” Zoey yelped, clinging to Joan’s head as they swayed dangerously. “Please stop moving!”

“I’m sorry!” Joan clawed at the coder’s legs. “It’s kind of hard to stay still when your thighs are cutting off the flow of oxygen to my brain!”

“Dude, shouldn’t we tell them about the ladder behind the conference room?” Leif asked, coming up behind Tobin as the women continued to bicker and blush uncontrollably.

“Nah bro. They’ve got it…”

They eventually did manage to change the lightbulb after about four minutes of teetering, swearing, and wandering hands. 

The boys turned away when Zoey somehow slipped on her descent from Joan’s shoulders and ended up with her face pressed directly into the older woman’s cleavage. 

“Uhhh, UHH, huh. Um wow. Uhh No…” Zoey pushed herself back. “Sorry, sorry I…whoa!!” She pinwheeled her arms, unsteady at the edge of Joan’s desk.

But just as gravity seized her, Joan yanked her back, jamming them closer together than before.

“I-I guess being up that high just made me light-headed…” Zoey apologized, arm still wrapped around Joan.

“Uh huh.” Was all Joan could manage. They stared each other down in brain-dead terror.

“Dude. We have to tell them.” Leif insisted as they shot covert glances towards their still-embracing bosses.

Tobin shook his head. “Nah, they can figure it out on their own.”

“You sure? They literally just changed a lightbulb in the dumbest way possible.”

“Love makes fools of us all.”


End file.
